Closure for containers



Get. 21 1924.

,w. A. LORENZ CLOSURE FOR CONTAINERS Filed May 2, 1923 Patented Oct. 21, 1924.

UNITED STATES WILLIAM A.,LORENZ, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT.

CLOSURE FOR CONTAINERS.

Application filed May 2,

To all whom it may concern."

Be it known that I. WIL IAM A. LORENZ, a citizen of the United States. residing at Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented new and useful Improvements in Closures for Containers, of which the 'following is a specification.

This invention relates to improved means for closing the tops of jars, tumblers or other containers. This closure is adapted for sealing receptacles containing cold products without the use of a vacuum; or for sealing receptacles by the well known vacuum processes.

The sealing of containers for holding food products especially, present diificulties which are quite serious. These comprise the proper seating of the cap and gasket on the jar rim, and holding them in place while the sealing operation is carried on; and other difficulties are also to be overcome.

The object ofthe present invention is to provide a closure that will hold the gasket in the cap so that the cap with the gasket can be placed on the jar or container and thus obviate the placing of a gasket on the container itself by hand.

Another object consists in exerting pressure on the inside of the annular gasket during the sealing operation, so that as the sealing operation'is carried on, the gasket will be pressed outwardly and over the rim of the receptacle, and thus force the gasket itself down over the outer rim .of the receptacle.

In the drawings- Figures 1 and 2 show an outside view and. a sectional view, respectively, of a cap having spring finger devices for holding the gasket in position in the cap. Fig. 3 shows the cap of Fig. 2 in section, placed upon a container ready to be sealed. Fig. 4 shows the cap of Fig. 3 pressed down upon the container and held by atmospheric pressure, thus completing the sealing opera tion. Fig. 5 shows an enlarged view of a part of Fig. 3, and Fig. 6 is an enlarged view of a part of Fig. 4. In both of these figures the left hand-edge only is shown. Fig. '2' shows a modification of the cap of Fig. 3. Fig. 8 shows another modification of the cap; and Fig. 9 shows a further modification of the cap.

The container 10 may be of any desired form. It is provided with a rounded rim 11. In the drawings'a tumbler is shown whose 1923. Serial No. 636,265.

rim 11 may be fire finished, if preferred. The closure, or cap 14, may be formed from a circular blank with a turned down rim 15; or it maybe formed from a rectangular blank, thus forming recesses l6-16 as in Fig. 7. The annular elastic gasket is shown at 18 in Figs. 2, 3, 5, 7, 8 and 9 in its noncompressed condit1on.-

In order to hold the gasket 18 in place, the rim 15 of the cap is perforated at intervals, forming spring projections 1919. These are bent inwardly so as to reach below the gasket 18.

The cap 14 is also provided, next to the rim 15, with an angularly bent annular portion 20, extending from the rim 15 downwardly. This angularly bent portion 20 may terminate in an annularly projecting portion 21, and beyond that the central portion of the cap is shown at 22, which may be raised from the lower portion of the part 21; or it may extend inwardly as shown at 23 in Fig. 8.

It will be noted that the angularly bent portion 20 on its under side faces downwardly and outwardly, and that the cap is not provided with any opposition to portion 20, or with any means for camming or forcing the gasket inwardly and downwardly. More specifically, it will be seen in the figures that the rim is generally cylindricaland is not curved at its upper end over the mouth of the jar, and further that the portion 20 meets the top of the rim at a sharp angle. Thus the portion 20 is free to force the gasket to the position shown in Fig. 6 and there is no force which tends to squeeze the gasket radially inwardly.

In Fig. 7 the spring projections are shown When placing the cap on the container, the spring fingers 19 will be sprung outwardly a little, in case they have been bent inwardly more than the difference between the cap rim 15 and the container 10. This is shown in the enlarged View Fig. 5.

When sealing the container 10 of Figs. 3 and 5, the cap 14 with its gasket 18, is placed loosely upon the container; air is pumped out from the interior of the container by suitable means; then the cap is forced downwardly, compressing the gasket 18 approximately to the form 26 of Figs. 4 and 6. During this compressing operation the angular part 20 of the cap 14 will force the gasket 18 outwardly, over and beyond the rim 11,

and (viii force the gasket downmirdiy over its rim as at 2 thus making a very effective sealing of the container.

A modification of the gasket holding device 19, is shown in Fig. 9, in which the rim 15 of the cap 14- is: pressed inwardly at intervals as at 30. forming projections which enter the gasket 18 and thus hold it in position in the cap. These projections 30 may be used independently of the spring fingers 19, or in conjunction therewitln if preferred. Various modifications may he made Without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I hereby claim as my invention:

1. In combination a ca for a container having a rim portion provided with inward ly bent projections and a gasket situated in said cap and held engaged and in position therein by said projections.

2. A closure for containers comprising a cap and overhanging and engaging cap having a rim provided with spring finger projections extending inwardly {T0111 the rim of the cap, and a gasket within said the tops of said fingers, whereby the gasket is held in said cap.

3. A; closure for containers having a rim portion with projections engaging and holding the gasket in position in the cap, and having an angularly disposed portion of the top of the cap adjacent to the rim portion, bent downwardly and inwardly, for forcing the gasket outwardly during the sealing operation.

Signed at Hartford, Gonn. this 27th day WILLIAM A. LORENZ.

' of April 1923.

'Witnesses:

D. MAUDE SMITH, LILLIAN M. TAYLOR. 

